Friday, August 20, 2010

Here is Home



"Here is Home"

Here is home, my blessed home,
Florida is her name.
God's Providence has brought me here,
So here I will remain.

Here is home, where I was born
One cold December morn'.
I gave my life to Jesus here,
That mem'ry I hold dear.

Here is home, my beautiful home,
Where God's creation sings
About the mighty power and grace
Of Jesus Christ our King.

Here is home, where in the Spring
The orange blossoms bloom,
And fill my senses to the brim
With their sweet perfume.
I love to hear the honey bees
Buzzing with all their might.
I love the clear, blue, cloudless sky
And radiant stars at night.

Here is home where summer comes
With its burning heat,

Relentlessly providing us
With bugs and burning feet.
But when the Lord provides us
With a gentle shower,
It lifts the weary, wilted head
Of every wildflower.


Here is home, where in the fall,
We all dig out our sweaters,
But really we dont need them--
A T-shirt would do better!
No autumn leaves are falling,
The trees are still quite green,
But a crisp, cool breeze is blowing,
And the days grow short, it seems.



Here is home, where winter comes,
It's not so very cold,
But how I love to dig in the sand
My numb and barefoot toes!

In wintertime I love to eat
An orange from the tree.
Such a sweet and sticky treat.
Quite a delicacy!



Here is home, my native land,
Where Spanish settlers roam'd.
They called this place the "Land of Flowers,"
And here they made their home.

When war broke out between the States,
We proved our loyalty
To the precious Southern cause
For God and Liberty!



Here is home where I am proud
To be a humble part
Of Florida's great, rich history
And hold it near my heart.


I'm proud to hold the name of 'cracker.'
My ancestors were as well.
Truck farmers, citrus growers too.
Right here they all did dwell.



Here is home, where family is.
God's greatest gift to me.

On earth there is no other one
I love as much as these.
My mother and my father
They give so much for me.
In fact it was their vision and faith
That brought our home to be.



My siblings and my cousins,
You are my dearest friends.
Our friendship is un-breakable;
A bond that has no end.
I owe so much to my grandparents,
And aunts and uncles, too.
They've taught and loved and helped me grow.
Dear family, God bless you.




Here is home, My home, sweet home
Where God has surely blessed.
I know He reigns apon the throne,
And in His Words I rest.



Thursday, August 12, 2010

American Vision Worldview Super Conference 2010



Aunt Amy and Becca joined us for some of the conference. :)








Hehe! Love this:)
Had a blast with our Peeps! ;o)
"Hey, Moose! Can you talk??"
I think this 'un speaks for itself...;o)

"Roly Poly, daddy's little fatty.." ;oD


The Carrol Family, an impressive bluegrass band. :)

Does anyone doubt that this is Mr. Swanson???



We stopped at a neat aviation museum on the way home. Larry wanted his picture taken in front of the building...;o)
Daddy and us girls :o)

Daddy and his boys :o)
We took a little leg-stretch break at a river that looked way too much like iced tea...
Hmmm...This should be interesting..;o)
Yep. Definitely Flawda ;o) ;o)
...And Florida again. :o)
Weeel, hope y'all enjoyed the pictures. The Lord bless you and come back and see us! ;o)


 

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Cousins and the Class of 2010

Hey, hey, hey, from the Stricklen family! We're back at last!
I've gotten really behind in the blogging world, and am having a hard time deciding where to start....
I guess I 'll just start at the very beginning.
(The very best place to start....) :D

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On July 18th, our Church, as well as an abundance of other sweet friends and family gathered to celebrate the high school graduation of Callie Stricklen, Grace Discher, and Matthew Stevens. It was a blessed day, and the Lord was honored and glorified through it. Congratulations, y'all, on persevering to the end! :)
Obviously, since Grace was one of the graduates, the Dischers came down and we had a wonderful time with them. Just like old times! :o) Anyways, that's where I'll start. Hope y'all enjoy the pictures.

Two little rascals are reunited...:)
"I'm Emma Jane Helper!"
Cleaning can be fun when you're with your favorite people! :D
Granddaddy took us out to Sonny's after getting the house all ready for the Graduation :o)

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Graduation day comes and is greeted with great anticipation........

Sissies :o)
Lovely Chelsea and Mariah
Inseparable friends....:o)
The Graves Ladies' lovely cake. :o)
CJ, the loyal protector of the cake.... ;o)
Kitty and I...obviously ;oD
The loveliest, most wonderful Great Grandmother in the whole world. :)

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The Graduates and their parents.
Granddaddy admonishes the Graduates with the Word

~Caroline Susannah Stricklen~
"By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honor and life."
Proverbs 22:4

We are so proud of Callie - she achieved a College Preparatory Diploma
with Highest Honors as did Matthew and Grace.
We trust that what she has gained over the past 12 years of homeschooling will be far more than just book knowledge but that she will have received true wisdom and Godly understanding as she has been nurtured in the fear and admonition of the Lord!

~Virginia Grace Discher~

"Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established."
Proverbs 16:3


~Matthew Ryan Stevens~

"For I am convinced...that he who began a good work
in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ."
Philippians 1:6

Family Picture Try #1.......
Well, that's probably the best we're gonna get....:o)
Callie and her wonderful teachers..... :o)










The Graduates....
Hahaha! Ummm....no comment....


Well, Happy Graduation, y'all! We are all very proud of you!
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After Graduation "Party" ;oD
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These three diligently practice the piano and hope someday to play like Grandmama...
....Others use their time in a less productive manner. ;o)
Well, we all know clean-up time has to come eventually....
...But thankfully, many hands make light work. :o)
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The next day we spent with the Dischers and had a lovely time...



Well, it looks like we'd better say goodbye....May the Lord bless y'all!